Patterns and trends in higher education report 2018

Universities UK has published its latest Patterns and trends report – published annually by Universities UK – presenting a range of data and analysis on the changing size and shape of UK higher education.

The report analyses the last 10 years in higher education, focusing on applications, student demographics and graduate outcomes; staff backgrounds and expertise; and the income and expenditure of higher education institutions.

Main findings include:

Demand for university places from 18-year-olds has increased, with those from less advantaged backgrounds 49% more likely to apply than a decade ago

In 2016–17, more than 400,000 international students came to study in the UK, which is 19% of all students (5.8% other EU and 13.3% non-EU respectively)

In 2017, the average salary for graduates in the UK was £33,000, compared to £23,000 for non-graduates. Only 2.8% of graduates were unemployed in 2017, compared to 5.3% of those without a degree

In 2016-17, the total income of UK universities was £35.7 billion. Less than half (46.9%) of total income came from fees related to teaching (£16.7 billion). Income from research represented around a fifth (22.1%, £7.9 billion) of the total, while endowments and investments (2.4%) and other income (19.4%) made up the remainder.

In 2016–17, there were 162 higher education institutions in the UK, excluding further education colleges, in receipt of public funding via one of the UK funding councils. This report features aggregated data from all 162, plus the University of Buckingham, largely based on institutional returns to the Higher Educations Statistics Agency (HESA).

News

UK universities and other higher education providers are planning a range of changes to the degree classification system to tackle perceptions of grade inflation and ensure public confidence in the results students receive and the value of a degree.